An In Vivo Assessment of the Effects of Using Different Implant Abutment Occluding Materials on Implant Microleakage and the Peri-Implant Microbiome

Abstract:

Microleakage may be a factor in the progression of peri-implant pathology. Microleakage in implant dentistry refers to the passage of bacteria, fluids, molecules or ions between the abutment-implant interface to and from the surrounding periodontal tissues. This creates a zone of inflammation and reservoir of bacteria at the implant-abutment interface. Bone loss typically occurs within the first year of abutment connection and then stabilizes. It has not yet been definitively proven that the occurrence of microleakage cannot contribute to future bone loss or impede the treatment of peri-implant disease. Therefore, strategies to reduce or eliminate microleakage are sought out. Recent evidence demonstrates that the type of implant abutment channel occluding material can affect the amount of microleakage in an in vitro study environment. Thus, we hypothesize that different abutment screw channel occluding materials will affect the amount of observed microleakage, vis-Ã -vis the correlation between the microflora found on the abutment screw channel occluding material those found in the peri-implant sulcus. Additional objectives include confirming the presence of microleakage in vivo and assessing any impact that different abutment screw channel occluding materials may have on the peri-implant microbiome. Finally, the present study provides an opportunity to further characterize the peri- implant microbiome. Eight fully edentulous patients restored with at dental implants supporting screw-retained fixed hybrid prostheses were included in the study. At the initial appointment (T1), the prostheses were removed and the implants and prostheses were cleaned. The prostheses were then inserted with polytetrafluoroethylene tape (PTFE, TeflonÂ®), cotton, polyvinyl siloxane (PVS), or synthetic foam as the implant abutment channel occluding material and sealed over with composite resin. About six months later (T2), the prostheses were removed and the materials collected. Paper points were used to sample the peri-implant sulcus bacteria. All samples were then submitted to DNA purification, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and sequencing protocols to assess relative numbers of bacterial species. Periodontal parameters were collected at both time points. Overall, our findings support several conclusions. Different implant abutment channel occluding materials appear to have no effect on the amount of observed microleakage and the peri-implant microbiome. Evidence for microleakage was found in the present study, corroborating existing in vivo evidence. Finally, we gained several insights regarding the peri implant microbiome. Of note, the peri-implant microbiome is well described by the classical periodontal microbial complexes, but a large portion consists of bacteria not previously classified into the microbial complexes.